We were approached by Como part of the Mace Group as they had recently changed the floor level of the reception of a commercial office building on Chiswell Street in Central London. This meant that the offices that were on the ground floor now had a floor level difference of 970mm. In order for their customers to now visit their offices, the client needed to be able to provide disabled access.

The challenge that we faced was that there was no space to install a conventional platform lift or step lift let alone a ramp and so we decided to install a specialist platform lift. The best way to describe the LP22 is a set of steps that then collapse into a platform lift that can then provide disabled access without taking away the original steps or stirs of a building. They are most commonly used and installed where space is at a premium so another lift or ramp cannot be fitted. These collapsing stairs look exactly like the original set that they replaced as they can be fitted with the exact same materials used.

The steps were finished in matching grey tiles that were used on the rest of the flooring, blending in seamlessly. The lift was fitted and installed in 3 days and provides disabled access without changing the existing steps leading to the offices.

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

We know it can be difficult getting around the country via trains regardless of having a disability. Every week there seems to be more cancellations and delays than the week before and we constantly hear about the ongoing disputes between the companies and workers' unions. The continuous strikes mean that we, the public, are left with a very fractured service and we can't get anywhere fast. It recently took me over 3 hours to travel to London, a journey that used to take under 2 hours. To think these journeys are extremely stressful is an understatement. Having a disability can compound this further, it should be easy for a wheelchair user to use every type of public transport but it seems it is becoming more difficult on trains in recent years. There is hope on the horizon with a £250m investment to Midland Metro being announced by Theresa May this morning but then that targets only a small area of the country. The long term project of High Speed 2 is, from the outside, promising but then it'll not start services for over 9 years if it's on time. It is also poses the questions will the brand new trains be compatible with the current stations along those lines.

Expensive Fares

This is not predominantly a factor affecting disabled people however I thought I would mention it as it is an issue that affects everyone. Train fares have risen in recent times to extortionate levels and I've experienced a poorer service as time has gone on. Every week there seems to be a delay or cancellation for some reason or another and it can become very frustrating. If train operators are going to rise ticket prices then I expect an increase in the standard of service however that's not what I've seen, with people getting lower value for money. Disabled people can find it difficult using trains at the best of times but having to use a dodgy ramp to embark and disembark the train makes the experience worse. You'd have thought that with an increase in fares the train operators would invest more in disabled access but it doesn't seem apparent. Across Europe the large French and German operators have invested heavily into disabled access supplying lifts from the train to the platform. Compared with the UK, they've made it far easier for disabled people to use the train network and therefore get around the country. It doesn't seem like there is going to be a massive reduction in fares in the near future so it would be great to see our money being invested more wisely into integral services such as disabled access.

A common sight on British railways

Old Trains

An issue that affects everyone and not just those with a disability is that trains from the 1980s still exist in certain parts of the country. Are these trains that are nearly 40 years old fit for service for the general public let alone wheelchair users? Simple answer - no they're not. The average age of a train on Britain's railways is over 20 years old and with an ever ageing and growing population, can these trains handle the demand? These older trains can be up to half a metre higher than the platform level and so makes disabled access a nightmare. A standard disability ramp in the UK has to have a gradient of between 1:12 to 1:20 - that would mean a 50cm height difference would have to have a 6 metre long ramp. Conventional disabled access ramps like these are cumbersome and difficult to manoeuvre in the short space of time a train stops at a station, in addition many platforms do not have 6 metres of space to work with.

Differing Heights and Trains

It seems strange that trains and platforms would vary in height so much, the apparent reason is due to constant network development with several stations being built over the decades since the Victorian Era. However you'd expect that there would be a standard height of platform or train floor but that doesn't seem to be the case. This is compounded by different train operators having slightly different designs and different types of trains having completely different operating heights. For example in the UK the "standard height" of a platform is 915mm but this can still vary, the Heathrow Express has platforms that measure 1100mm high. High Speed 1 connecting London to the Channel Tunnel has platforms measuring 760mm high and High Speed 2 will either have 550mm or 760mm platforms. These discrepancies are illogical but they exist and so we need to find a way to bridge these gaps. Sometimes these gaps between the train floor height and the platform are not manageable for able bodied people let alone wheelchair users.

This can be a difficult problem to solve for a station manager especially if he has more than one type of train going through his station. He could have different lengths of ramp depending on the train floor height but then he would have to have several different ramps and places to store them as well as the additional cost. Ease of use of should be at the forefront of everyone's minds, how can we make these services better for the customers. A simple but effective method to get around varying train heights is to have a portable train lift, easy to use and can rise up to a 1 metre to meet the train's floor level. Portable disabled access lifts are affordable and can be easily moved into position something station managers can find difficult with cumbersome ramps.

Old Southern Rail Train

Some London Underground platforms are inaccessible to wheelchair users

Time

Trains are a time critical service, a small amount of time lost at one station can impact the onward journey and make a train late at it's terminal stop. It seems like we're stuck in the dark ages when it comes to disabled access for trains, several years behind Europe. With great variation within the distance between the train and the platform, getting the right ramp can be an arduous process and can be very time consuming. It can require 2 or more staff to manoeuvre into position then help the disabled passenger disembark the train. This can take a relatively long period of time and depending on the height of the train, the station manager might have to use different ramps. A simple solution to these problems is the portable disabled access train lift. It can be stored on the platform and then easily wheeled out when needed. As it is an adjustable platform lift it could operate at any height up to 1 metre and only needs one person to wheel it out and use it rather than 2 or more that can be used when positioning a ramp.

The Solution

Disabled access is pretty lacklustre across Britain with ramps the predominantly used solution. However with varying platform sizes across the country and train operators using different carriage designs you would need more than one ramp. Ramps can also be cumbersome and take more than one person to simply position it in place ready for a disabled passenger. A portable train lift can be kept on the platform and simply wheeled out when needed. The lift can cover heights of up to 1 metre above the platform level and can be easily driven up and down to meet the train's floor level. In addition it only takes one person to move it into position then operate it. This frees up time for the other station staff to carry out other tasks therefore makes the station more efficient.

Portable Train Lift

Disabled Access for Trains

Platform Lift for Trains

For more information about our disabled access solutions for the transport sector click here

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Firstly, as a company we are very grateful to visit some beautiful historic and listed buildings that warrant national and international acclaim. We also love working in this fantastic locations and tackling the complicated problems that for the most part centuries old buildings can throw at us. We all know that they can be tricky to deal with whether you're the building's owner, a construction management company or even a lift engineering business like us. In this following article we're going to look at the challenges that can present themselves when working in a historic or listed buildings and how we can overcome them.

Removal or Alteration of a Building

It's all well and good being asked to come to site to measure and provide a quotation for a lift for a historic or listed building. However due to listings even getting a lift into position can prove challenging. Unlike normal buildings where you could simply remove part of a wall or make a small change, do that on a listed building and you'll have hell to pay for it. Sometimes this can be good as it allows us to use our creative side to design and develop a lift that has to overcome this tricky obstacle. We do love working in historic and listed buildings and designing lifts that seamlessly blend into the surrounding aesthetics.

Finding Something Unexpected

These are the issues that can stop your project before it's even got started or put the start date back by several months or even years. In buildings that are several hundreds of years old you should expect to find something of historic importance but it is always a surprise when they appear. The "surprises" can vary from a secretive Jacobean era priest hole that needs to be preserved or even bones of a 11th Century monk. Excavation is a very important part of the initial building process especially when lifts require a pit below the floor level. Churches seem to have the greatest risk of presenting surprises due to the age and the quantity of people being buried in the building or in the grounds. You always have your fingers crossed when you get a phone call from the site management company when you know they've just excavated where the lift is supposedly going.

Sizes and Awkwardness

We've had lifts delivered to tiny areas or put into very small spaces but listed buildings can be another kettle of fish. The simple task of moving the lift from where it was delivered to where it is actually going to be can take hours to navigate tiny passageways. We are usually one of the last trades on site as the builders have laid our structure, the plasterers have already done their job and the decorators are splashing the walls with paint so we are up against a time constraint. This combined with a difficult to navigate site means it can extend lift installation. In order to make it more manageable and easier to move around site we can have our lifts delivered in smaller parts however that can extend the process of installation.

Electrical issues

For the most part publicly owned historic or listed buildings are fairly well covered with modern wiring found around the whole of the building. However in private projects the story can be the polar opposite. I live in a Grade II listed house and know the difficulties of trying to modernise even basic features. A lot of the privately owned listed buildings that we have had a pleasure of working on are from 18th Century or before and sometimes it seems like their wiring is also from these times. The majority of our lifts run off single phase 240V actuators and so are easy to connect to the mains and are energy efficient. However in some listed buildings even this can prove difficult. Every single listed site that we visit is unique and poses its own challenges and part of the fun of the job is tackling these issues and adding more skills to our repertoire.

Matching Aesthetics

Ok so this isn't really issue and we love creating lifts that are "hidden" in plain sight but some designs can be more difficult than others. In the past we've had to use the exact same materials or original suppliers. For example at the National Theatre on London's Southbank we had to have the ceiling anodised bronze, it was done by the same company that anodised the original ceiling in 1976, we even used the same original carpet from 1971 on the lift's floor. For more about that particular project click here. Historic and listed buildings provide us the opportunity to create a very high specification of product which we love doing, being able to put all our skills on show is why we're in this business. To give you an example of what the work we're currently undertaking is that we're retrofitting an 1850s lift into a modern lift, using the same rosewood panelling and even the same Victorian lift curtain. We love creating unique lifts that are tailor made to the highest standards and quality.

For more information about our projects in historic and listed buildings click here and to see photos of our lifts in historic and listed buildings click here

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Before we start, this list is completely objective and we know that our clients and customers get lifts for many different unique reasons. So in no particular order the first reason is...

1. Accessibility

One of the main reasons why someone would look to have a lift installed is due to accessibility - this could be in the form of a wheelchair user or if you've recently had an accident and now find it difficult to walk. A home lift helps you access every part of your home without difficulty. Everyone deserves to have freedom in their own home and a home lift can be a life changing benefit without breaking the bank.

2. Functionality

A lot of home lifts are installed as the client wants to be able to use the lift for other purposes then just moving themselves throughout the house. No one likes lugging heavy goods up and down the stairs, a home lift can make those journeys disappear and you'll be surprised by how many things you can get into even the smallest home lift. Whether you're about to go on holiday and have to carry your suitcases or you've just purchased some furniture, a home lift can be the perfect answer. Gone are those horrible early mornings where you're trying to walk the suitcase down the stairs without marking the walls or putting your back out.

3. Staying in Your Own Home

We don't know what life is ever going to throw at us, however we can always prepare for what could happen. If you have a serious accident it can be a life changing experience and make the 1st floor of your home completely inaccessible. This means you face the following options: you can either remodel your home extensively so now you can live on the ground floor, move out of your home to a new house or install a small home lift that would allow you to access every part of your home again. Home lifts are becoming as affordable as ever and can change your life completely and let you find your freedom again.

4. Futureproof

Futureproof is a buzz word in both the lift industry as well as in the housing market. More and more technological advancements are being brought into the home at an alarming rate. Whether it's your fridge giving you a weather update or ordering your food shop through a speaker we are creating fantastic inventions. We all know that we grow up and get older so in order to help us with life's inevitable difficulties a home lift can be the answer. And if you go to sell the house at any point then the addition of a home lift will definitely make it more attractive potential buyers.

5. Adds Value to Your Property

Every person who has spoken to a home lift salesman has probably heard this line during their sales pitch. We hate to say it but it's true, with an ever-ageing population, most buyers expect to get value for money. In the most affluent areas of the country, home lifts are becoming more and more commonplace. Sellers and homeowners are realising that to make their property stand out and be more attractive to buyers they need the convenience of a home lift. Lifts can act as an investment because they are for the most part inexpensive but can add significant value to your home or even be the key difference in a potential buyer putting in an offer.

6. Statement & Style

Gone are the clunky designs of the past, now we have sleek and attractive lift styles and a whole array of finishes to choose from so a client's lift is truly unique. We've been in the lift industry for over 40 years and have seen a massive increase in the features and luxury styles that can now be installed. Rather than being hid away in a cupboard (we do still do hidden lifts) home lifts are now being made into statement pieces in the home, a glamorous luxury in the hallway or a external glass structure fixed to the building. Being based in East Dorset we see the building styles of Sandbanks, Canford Cliffs and Bournemouth each day. Angular houses with glass being a prominent feature are everywhere and now lifts can make a similar statement.

7. Safety

It might sound a bit strange but lifts really can make your home safer especially for the very young and the elderly. The amount of times we hear of young children or the elderly falling down stairs is continuously rising. With an ever-increasing older population we really need to look into ways to make our homes safer and one of these options is to install a home lift. With advancements in technology and parts becoming standardised, the cost of having a home lift is constantly declining. In addition the size of mechanisms is always becoming smaller so there is no need for a large amount of builders' work.

8. Convenience

It might sound silly but a lot of people look to get a home lift purely for convenience, we see many of our customers who live in converted or refurbished town houses have small home lifts installed. Town houses, particularly those in London can have 4 to 6 floors and so a home lift is the easiest way of getting from floor to floor rather than struggling up a tight staircase.

9. Save Space

Stairs can surprisingly take up a lot of room in your house without you knowing it. It sounds like a strange alternative but a home lift is a perfect as it frees space up on every floor. You can ever have the lift in an external shaft fitted to the outside of your house, saving more space. There are many different options and products available so the size of the lift can be really small - you can even have them in cupboards with your choice of door clad to the lift so it would be hidden in plain sight.

10. Security

A home lift can be used as part of a wider security package. If a home lift is fitted with key switches then the lift can only be operated by those individuals with the right keys. If the lift is the only way of getting from the ground floor to the first floor then it creates a physical barrier so that unwanted individuals cannot reach the first floor and beyond.

For more information about the different types of home lifts that we design and install click here and to see our completed home lift projects click here

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GPAD, the London based architecture firm, approached us as they wanted to install disabled access into the main entrance of a commercial office block they had recently designed in Reading. Venture House is a former print works building that has recently been refurbished creating 6 floors of commercial offices in the heart of Reading.

GPAD wanted a platform lift that would suit the modern interior of this iconic building but also not break the bank. We designed and installed a Midilevel platform lift with dimensions of 1100mm x 1400mm. The lift travel distance is 1.2 metres and provides disabled access at the main entrance of the building. The lift was finished in black painted steel to match the surrounding balustrade with a mesh door designed for the lift car and a glass door chosen for the upper level.

The lift was installed in 3 days and a gap of 22mm was left on the lift platform so that the building contractors could finish the tiles on the side. The tiles used on the lift matched the rest of the flooring so there was a seamless transition from landing to platform.

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

We were approached by the architect, De Matos Ryan, to measure for a disabled access lift in the British Library in Central London. The British Library is located next to St Pancras Station on Euston Road and contains copies of every book published in the UK as well as being the largest library in the world. The building it is situated in is less than 50 years old however it is a Grade I listed building which can make the construction of a lift very difficult. The client needed disabled access across 3 floors for library visitors as well as private functions that take place on the 2nd floor. The lift’s overall travel would be 5.8m.

The disabled access lift needed to cover 3 floors and have adjacent doors on both 1st and 2nd floors as well as being perfectly aligned between the 2 steel beams supporting the roof. One of the initial challenges we faced was that for a lift of this size, a conventional lift would require a 1500mm pit below the lower floor level, however due to the small distance between the floor level and the ceiling of the floor below the maximum pit we were able to have was 130mm. In addition, a conventional lift would need 3500mm metres above the upper floor level however we had a maximum height of 2350mm as the ceiling could not be taking off or adjusted for the lift.

The lift structure also needed to be able to support two landing balconies weighing 500kg each. The disabled access lift that we installed was a Vertico inDOMO with platform dimensions of 1200mm x 1200mm. We had 2 sets of automatic power car doors adjacent to ground floor entry onto the balconies of 1st and 2nd floors. The architect wanted a white finished with pinned glass on the outside of the structure. This proved challenging as there were limited options to be able to position the glass panes as there were no points that could become a hoist. This resulted in the glass, weighing up to 120kg per piece, being carried up the staircase and then carefully placed and pinned in place.

The lift now supplies disabled access for all library users and is an aesthetically pleasing addition to the Grade I listed building.

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

We were approached by a private client in Dartford, Kent who was looking to modify the existing disabled access route into his office. He wanted to replace the existing old rickety ramp (see below) which was difficult to manoeuvre on and travel up due to its steep angle with an easier system. With this in mind, we discussed the different options available to the client and we decided the best option moving forward was to install an outdoor inclined platform lift. The lift would have to be able to take the load of his electric-powered wheelchair as well as any wheelchairs used by any visitors to the different offices and businesses in the building. In addition to the lift we would fit a new set of wooden steps so that able-bodied people would still be able to use this route as a point of access.

We designed and installed an outdoor inclined platform lift with a platform measuring 800mm x 1250mm and a load capacity of up to 300kg. The lift travels a total distance of 1500mm. The large platform space allows for both the client's electric-powered wheelchair as well as smaller manual wheelchairs of visitors and workers of the other businesses within the building. Our engineers also fitted a new set of wooden steps so that able-bodied members of staff would also be able to use this access route. The outdoor inclined platform lift was finished in stainless steel so that it's resistant to all weather conditions.

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

We were approached by Interiors with Art, a London based design and construction company as they were looking to incorporate a lift into one of their projects in Mayfair. We attended site to measure and provide a quotation for a small passenger lift that could service all 4 floors of the house. As with many of the Victorian townhouses found in the Mayfair area this building had been split into flats. Mayfair is an affluent area of West London and is situated just to the East of Hyde Park and West of the City of London. Lifts in townhouses in the Mayfair and Park Lane area are becoming more and more common as building and flat owners are looking to future proof their properties and our client was no different. In the current market, a building without a lift can be the reason a flat doesn't sell at the asking price or even sell at all.

The architect wanted the small passenger lift to fit into the space that had been left behind after the dumbwaiter was removed. The lift would also have to have adjacent entries therefore would limit the interior cabin dimensions even more. The lift's interior measures 630 mm x 725 mm with photocells placed on the two sides of entry - this was to maximise the space inside the lift for the client. The total travel of the lift is over 10 metres across 4 floors and the maximum load of the lift is 300kg. The lift has 600mm wide swing landing doors with opaque glass windows and finished in the client's chosen RAL colour. The lift's interior was finished in polished stainless steel giving the feel that the lift was much larger than it actually was. The floor of the lift was fitted with the same marble tiling as the ground floor so there was a seamless transition from hallway to lift.

To see more of our lifts in small spaces then click on the following projects in Newbury, Westbourne, and to see an example of our work in flats click on our Seadown project.

Location: London

Status: Complete

Year Completed: 2017

Small Passenger Lift at Mount Street in Mayfair

4 Floor Lift at Mount Street with Marble Tiled Floor

Small Passenger Lift in Set of Flats in London

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

In January 2017 we were approached by a private client in Kingswear, Devon who was looking to future-proof their home and provide disabled access not only to themselves but to friends as well. Similar to many properties across the Devon coastline, this home was situated on the side of a hill with car parking several metres below the entrance to the house. After discussion with the client we decided that the best option would be to install an outdoor stairlift. Other options such as a platform lift would require too much builders work and wouldn't be an affordable option while there was too little space to fit an inclined platform lift without expanding the width of the steps.

The total travel of the outdoor stairlift is over 23 metres spread across 43 steps from the road below to the front door. Even though the route the lift travels is a complicated one with many twists and turns, the outdoor stairlift was installed in one day. Due to the lift's location and proximity to the sea, all metal components were made out of marine-grade stainless steel to prevent any rust or corrosion forming in the future. The client was very happy with the installation and has a beautiful view of the River Dart when they use the outdoor stairlift.

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

We were approached by Southwark Council because they needed to provide disabled access to their offices on Southwark Bridge Road, SE1. At the name suggests they are close to the river therefore right in the heart of London. Similar to many other commercial offices in the city, space is at a premium and it can be difficult to fit any type of disabled access in existing properties. After taking measurements of the area where a lift could be fitted, we came up with a drawing and submitted it to the council, who then ordered the lift.

Our engineers installed a LPA - a special lifting platform, designed by our manufacturer in Denmark - with platform dimensions of 1519mm x 1184mm. The lift had to keep to these very specific measurements because the building has a steel shutter that has to completely shut to stop the public from entering the building outside of office opening hours. The platform lift has a total travel distance of 780mm to the ground floor level. The lift was finished in stainless steel so that the lift would be able to withstand the day-to-day footfall of a busy commercial office in London. The side panels as well as the car and landing doors were finished in glass.